June 2018 - Lawyers Blog

Selecting the Most Qualified NY Personal Injury or Brain Injury Lawyer for Brain Damage Injury Cases

Unfortunately, many persons have not received and will not receive adequate compensation for their traumatic brain injuries because they did not have proper representation. A lawyer representing a person and their family for traumatic brain injury should possess knowledge, education and experience in this area of litigation. In most states, injured persons have the ability to retain a lawyer by the use of the contingent fee agreement. The lawyer does not receive any fee until the conclusion of the case. Under this system, an injured person and their family can afford to retain the most qualified legal representative.Since the results of your law suit will have important and long term impact upon the quality of your life, it is important to determine who the best lawyer is for your brain injury case.Some things to ask any attorney who you are considering retaining in a brain injury case:Q: How many cases similar to mine have you been involved with as the principal attorney over the past three years?

Q: What percentage of your practice is devoted to representing persons with a traumatic brain injury?

Q: Will you be handling my case personally or will you be referring it to another lawyer or law firm?

Q: What have been your results in representing persons with cases similar to mine?

Q: Have you written and published any articles on traumatic brain injury?

Q: Have you lectured to any bar associations, brain injury associations or other groups about the effective legal representation of persons with traumatic brain injury?

Q: Do you actively participate in your state’s brain injury association?

Q: Do you regularly attend conferences and read textbooks and articles about traumatic brain injury?

Q: Have you ever received any professional honors and awards concerning your representation of persons with a brain injury?

Q: Does your law firm have the financial resources to advance, even if in excess of $50,0000, to properly prosecute my case, if necessary?

Financial Planning Options For Your Personal Injury Settlement

Before agreeing to a settlement of your lawsuit, it is important to consider the options available in order to protect your funds and provide for your future financial well being. While cash is always an option, it may not be in your best interest to accept all of your settlement in this manner.

Structured Personal Injury Settlements:

WHAT IS A STRUCTURED PERSONAL INJURY SETTLEMENT?

A structured settlement is a stream of future payments taken as an alternative to a single cash payment at the time of settlement. Funds to provide these future payments are paid to a life insurance annuity company which then issues an insurance policy for these payments. Because the management of money is no easy matter and recent studies have shown that many persons who receive large sums of money in settlement of a law suit have nothing left after several years, structured settlements have become very popular.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO A CLAIMANT?

A tax-free income stream that can be guaranteed for the claimant’s life or the life of his spouse thus avoiding the risk that you will run out of income.
Guaranteed future income which is not subject to market fluctuations.
Protection from friends and relatives.
Payment streams that can be individualized to meet the unique circumstances of each claimant.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES TO A CLAIMANT?

Loss of control over principal.
The plan you chose cannot be changed later in life if your situation changes.
Risk of insurance company insolvency.
Rate of return is locked in at the inception of the settlement.
At DE CARO & KAPLEN, LLP, we recognize that the way funds are administered is as important as the settlement itself. Therefore we do not rely upon the defense insurance company or their lawyers to design a plan for our clients. We retain and work directly with our own structured settlement specialists to design a plan that will fit the future needs of our clients.

Month: June 2018